12 years ago, a group of humanists in Quito, Ecuador articulated as Espacio No Violento (Nonviolent Space) took the decision to convene organisations to make visible the nonviolent initiatives they had been implementing; thus, a first public, open and inclusive fair was launched.
Years later, this initiative grew and together with other collectives, organisations and institutions that develop projects, proposals and actions around the construction of a culture of peace, nonviolence and non-discrimination converged in a series of activities throughout the month of October, taking into account that the United Nations, in homage to the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian Independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy of non-violence, declared 2 October as the international day of non-violence.
With several simultaneous activities in various cities of Ecuador, the October Nonviolent October agenda for 2023 began on this day.
The organisers consider it necessary to make visible the methodology of active non-violence in the country, in a context in which alarming figures of femicides, kidnappings, murders, among other criminal acts have generated a strong climate of insecurity in a large part of the population.
Nonviolent October aims to position active nonviolence as the methodology to ensure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding for the resolution of conflicts and the strengthening of harmonious coexistence.
At the same time, various organisations at the national level seek to make the existing initiatives in the city and in the country about nonviolence visible and to raise awareness of the importance of working in a nonviolent perspective in an increasingly broad spectrum of the population.
